Toxic Plants, Flowers and Shrubs that may be Growing in Your Garden

All or part of each of these plants are considered to be toxic

If you or any other person has been affected by any toxic plant, call 911 or your local poison control center immediately!! If your pet eats something that is poisonous, you should call your veterinarian immediately! This list should not be considered to be a complete listing of all toxic plants. For the most complete indexing of toxic house, garden and wild plants, I recommend you visit the U.S. Army's Guide to Poisonous and Toxic Plants or Canada: Poisonous Plants / Common

Common Name Botanical Name Height Plant Characteristics and Notes USDA Zones Growing Requirements Benefits Algerian Ivy Hedera canariensis Algerian Ivy's glossy 4-8" foliage and the vines ability to crawl, creep and climb just about anywhere makes this a great ground cover or privacy screen 4-7   Alpine Columbine Aquilegia flabellata 6-12" Violet with white flowers are borne on stiff stalks above the lacy bluish green foliage of the durable, self seeding Alpine Columbine 3-9   Alpine Poppy Papaver alpinum 6-10" This short lived, miniature version of the Iceland Poppy readily reseeds itself. It produces saucer shaped 1" white, yellow or peach flowers in mid summer 4-9 Angel's Trumpets Brugmansia 6-12 ft. From early summer until fall, mature Angel's Trumpet's produce waves of large, very fragrant, downward hanging, trumpet shaped, 6"-10" long flowers. In frost free regions, they may bloom all year long. 9-12 Azalea Rhododendron 1-8 ft. Azaleas must be grown in an acid soil, with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. The buds for next years blooms will be formed this year, so it important that the faded blooms are removed 6-8 Burning Bush Dictamnus albus 2-3 ft. The Burning Bush, or Gas Plant, earned it's name because of the phenomina created by the fact that the leaves, flowers and seed pods give off a strong lemon scented vapor which, on a calm summer night can be ignited with a match. 3-7   Carolina Jasmine Gelsemium sempervirens Semi-evergreen, yellow trumpet blooms in spring, quickly climbs to great heights where it forms masses of foliage and bloom 7-9 Castor Bean Ricinus communis 6-12 ft. Castor Beans are fast growing, tender perennial shrubs that are capable of growing up to 12 feet in a single season. Castor Bean plants have reddish colored stalks with very large palmate shaped, deep green to dark purple leaves that can grow up to 2 feet wide. Seeds of the Castor Bean plant are extremely poisonous! 9-12 Christmas Rose Helleborus niger 12-15" The Christmas Rose is one of the easier and most rewarding garden plants to grow, Their ability to bloom in the darkest months of the year when everything else is frozen solid make them a valuable asset to any garden. A Christmas Rose will produce flowers from late fall up until early spring. 4-8 Cineraria Pericallis cruenta 12-24" Cineraria plants form 12"-24" tall, mounded clumps of large, lush, bright green leaves which create a nice accent for the vividly colored, 3"-5" flowers that stand above it in the spring and summer. 9-11 Columbine Aquilegia 12-18" The Columbine is an easy plant to grow because it adapts itself to a wide variety of conditions. They are a favorite flower for hummingbirds, and are excellent additions to rock gardens or in a native woodland planting 3-9 Crocus Crocus 3-6" Crocus need four weeks of winter's chilling (below 50°) in order to bloom in the spring. Crocus bulbs can be forced into bloom at any time of the year Hardy Cypress Vine Ipomoea quamoclit Cypress vine is a fast growing member of the Morning Glory family with attractive, feather-like foliage and pretty, 1½ star shaped tube flowers in late summer. Can be easily grown from soaked or nicked seeds   Dogbane Apocynum cannabinum 3 ft. Dogbane is an upright, shrub-like deciduous perennial with yollowish green foliage. It produces small flowers at the branch tips from late spring until late summer, followed by slender 8 inch seed pods 4-10   Easter Lilies Lilium 12-30" In the home, Easter Lilies prefer fairly cool daytime temperatures of 60°-65°. Night temperatures should be slightly cooler at 55°-60°. Move your Easter Lily to the garden after all danger of frost has passed Hardy Elderberry Sambucus 10-20 ft. Elderberries are fast growing, low maintenance, multi-stemmed deciduous shrubs with deeply veined, serrated foliage. They produce large flat clusters of flowers in late spring to early summer, followed by small berries which may or may not be poisonous, by species 4-10 Eucalyptus Eucalyptus 1-180 ft. Eucalyptus plants come in a number of varieties ranging from low growing shrubs to 180 ft. giants. Most varieties are evergreen but may shed their leaves in severe droughts. They bear fluffy little flowers in late spring to early summer 8-11   Exbury Azalea Rhododendron 4-12 ft. Deciduous Exbury Azaleas bloom in late spring or early summer, producing clusters of 7-18 large, 2"-3", often very fragrant, often bi-colored flowers in shades of yellow, orange, pink, red and white. 5-9 Golden Trumpet Vine Allamanda cathartica The Golden Trumpet Vine is a prolific blooming, frost tender perennial. It can be potted up and grown as a house plant. All parts of Allamanda cathartica are extremely toxic 9-11 Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Ipomoea The Heavenly Blue Morning Glory is a twining, perennial vine with heart-shaped leaves; usually cultivated as a garden annual—bears clusters of bright sky-blue flowers with creamy white throats. May become invasive Heliotrope Heliotropium arborescens 1-6 ft. Heliotropes are also known by the old-fashioned name of Cherry Pie. They are frost tender, evergreen shrubs that are most often grown as annual bedding plants. Their main attraction is the aroma from their clusters of tiny flowers with the sweet fragrance of vanilla or cherry pie. 10-11 Japanese Pieris Pieris japonica 6-12 ft. The Japanese Pieris, or Lily of the Valley shrub is a nice plant to add to the garden for early spring color. It is a compact, symetrical, evergreen shrub that has leathery 3-4 inch foliage that emerges coppery-pink, before turning to a deep green. Cascading clusters of small, urn shaped flowers open in February or early March. 4-8 Japanese Spurge Pachysandra terminalis 6-10" Pachysandra is a very easy to care for, durable, low growing, mat forming, slow spreading ground cover plant that grow on thick, unbranched stems to about 6" tall in partial shade and 10" in deep shade. 5-9 Jerusalem Cherry Solanum pseudocapsicum 2-3 ft. The Jerusalem Cherry belongs to a diverse family of plants that includes Nightshade, Cockroach Berries, Horsenettles, Tomatos, Potatos and Egg Plants. 8-9   Larkspur Consolida ambigua 1-5 ft. Larkspur is a low maintenance, upright growing annual with many stems of sparsely covered with light green, needle-like foliage topped with a spire of brightly colored flowers throughout the summer. Remove spent blooms to prolong flowering.   Lily of the Valley Convallaria majalis 5-6" Lily of the Valley bulbs will bloom in just 3-4 weeks if potted up at 65°. In the garden, Lily of the Valley's sweetly scented flowers bloom in early spring. They like partial to full shade and are perfect for your shade garden. Hardy Milkweed Asclepias speciosa 2-3 ft. Milkweed is a deciduous American wildflower with large, wooly, greyish green leaves. They produce clusters of brightly colored, uniquely shaped flowers from late spring until late summer which turn into large, pointed seed pods 3-9   Monkshood Aconitum napellus 3 ft. Monkshood closely resembles Delphiniums in both foliage and flower. It has deeply divided green foliage and tall spikes of dark blue, purple or white flowers 3-9   Morning Glory Ipomoea species 10-20 ft. Morning Glories are very fast growing vines that are capable of growing 10 feet or more within the first two months. They readily reseed themselves for the next year. Morning Glory vines may become invasive 9-12 Natal Plum Carissa macrocarpa 4-8 ft. Natal Plum is a quick growing tender shrub with thick, shiny, oval 1-2" leaves. The fruit is edible, but the leaves contain toxic sap. Thorns along the stems. 9-11   Pasque Flower Pulsatilla vulgaris 9"-12" In early spring, Pasque Flower plants produce large, 3"-4", violet purple, pink or sometimes white flowers with bold, contrasting yellow centers which, as they begin to fade, are followed by finely dissected, silvery green, fern-like foliage. 4-8 Periwinkle Vinca 6" Periwinkles are fast growing, evergreen ground cover plants with opposing pairs of glossy dark green or variegated, oblong to lance shaped, 1½"-3" leaves. They produce an abundance of single, 1"-2" funnel shaped flowers with five flared and flattened petals. 4-9 7-10 Poinsettia Euphorbia pulcherrima 1-8 ft. Poinsettias are perennials, so it's possible to keep them growing from year to year. In order to get them to produce their flower bracts again next December, they must be kept at 50 degrees and kept in total darkness for 14 hours per day beginning in mid September. 10-12 Privet Ligustrum vulgare 4-15 ft. Privet is a densely growing deciduous shrub with small light green, mottled or golden foliage. It produces clusters of fragrant white flowers all summer. Can be pruned into elaborate shapes 1-10   Rainbow Leucothoe Leucothoe fontanesiana 3-5 ft. Rainbow Leucothoe is an easy to care for, slow growing, 3-5 ft. multi-stemmed evergreen shrub, with glossy, variegated 3-4" leaves. Good as an accent plant or for boggy areas. 5-8 Rhododendron 'Blitz' Rhododendron 5 ft. Rhododendron 'Blitz' has deep red, trumpet shaped flowers in late May. Rhododendrons must be grown in an acid soil, with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. They will not tolerate lime. 2-8 Rhododendron 'Purple Splendour' Rhododendron 5 ft. Rhododendron 'Purple Splendour' has deep purple flowers with black blotching in late May. Rhododendrons must be grown in an acid soil, with a pH of 5.0 to 6.5. They will not tolerate lime. 2-8 Rhododendron 'Wren' Rhododendron 'Wren' 12" Low growing, mounding miniature Rhododendron with bright yellow flowers 3 Rose Daphne Daphne cneorum 1 ft. Rose Daphne is a fragrant, low growing evergreen shrub which blooms prolifically in the spring and occasionally again in the summer. It is excellent as a ground cover or foreground planting 4-8 Siberian Squill Scilla siberica 6-8 Scilla are bulbous perennial plants that is evergreen where hardy. Leaves are lance-shaped, upright and fleshy. It produces spikes of blue bell-shaped flowers in the spring. 3-9 Purple Wood Spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides 18-30" Stiff, purplish-green leaves spiral outward around woody stems, upright clusters of golden-green flowers from mid spring until early summer 5-9 Trillium Trillium grandiflorum 8-24" Trilliums are shade loving, spring blooming perennial woodland wildflowers. They have three dark green, single layer leaves below a green three leaf whorl, below their large three petal flower. Trilliums will most likely perish if their foliage is cut from the plant 3-7 Violet Tubeflower Iochroma cyaneum 3-5 ft. Violet Tubeflowers are shrubby, evergreen plants. They are sometimes called Mini Brugs, because they resemble and are a close relative of Brugmansias. they produce umbel-like, dangling clusters of up to 20, 2"-3", tubular, deep purple flowers. 9-11 Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Virginia Creeper is a fast growing deciduous vine with intensely rich red fall color. It easily clings to walls or a trellis, or can be allowed to creep as a ground cover. The berries are highly toxic!     Windflower Anemone pulsatilla 8-12" Fernlike foliage follows the pretty blue flowers in May 4-9 Winter Daphne Daphne odora 4 ft. Winter Daphne is a popular spreading, evergreen shrub that blooms in February and March, producing a cluster of fragrant, pink to red flowers at the end of each branch. The narrow, dark green, 3" leaves are thick and glossy. Winter Daphne plants will grow to a height of four feet, with a 6-8 foot spread. 8-10 Search The Garden Helper: ×Close